The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 2-41

Chapters 43-127

Chapters 131-157

Chapters 163-233

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Black Day and Good Day

Yellow and brown are colors that Christopher avoids. If, on the way to school, he sees four yellow cars in a row, he determines that it is a Black Day, and therefore he must be very careful: “I don’t speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don’t eat my lunch and Take No Risks” (24). Once, he suffered a second Black Day in a row and sat in a corner, head against the wall, groaning, which helped; nonetheless, on the third day, he rode the bus to school with his eyes closed. A Black Day is distinct from a Good Day.

A Good Day is one in which Christopher sees four red cars in a row. Such a day contains good fortune, and Christopher gives himself a lot of freedom to be happy. Three red cars in a row cause a “Quite Good Day,” and five red cars in a row cause a “Super Good Day” (24). A Good Day is contrasted with a Black Day. Good and Black Days characterize Christopher’s self-made superstitions and help the reader understand the way his mind works.

Book

At the urging of Siobhan, Christopher begins to write a book about his search for the killer of Wellington the poodle. The book is contained in a notebook; it amounts to a journal that includes a diary of what happened during the adventure along with notes, comments, illustrations, and formulas. Christopher’s father, who doesn’t want his son investigating the dog’s murder, finds the book and hides it, but Christopher finds it again. The book becomes The Curious Incident, a work that enables Christopher to think about and express fully his many observations and ideas about his life and experiences. It also stands as a record of his growth as he reconciles his communication challenges with his unusual mind, superb reasoning skills, and need for the love and safety of his parents.

Food

Christopher doesn’t eat much. He only likes particular foods and turns down others. He places his preferred snacks—Milky Bars, licorice laces, Clementine oranges, wafers, and red food coloring (in case he encounters a yellow food that he needs to eat)—in a food box that he brings to school. Food on his plate mustn’t touch or he’ll refuse to eat it.

Garden Fork

A garden fork impales the body of Wellington, Mrs. Shears’s French poodle. Similar to but shorter than a pitchfork, the garden fork is the first piece of evidence in Christopher’s quest to detect the dog’s murderer. He discovers that the fork is one of a matched set of gardening tools in Mrs. Shears’s backyard shed, which suggests it may have been used as a weapon by someone known to Mrs. Shears. Thus, it is Christopher’s first clue.

Metaphor

Metaphors—“The tree whispered in the breeze”—confuse Christopher because he has trouble thinking about something that’s impossible, so he doesn’t like them. Similes—“The tree whispered like a person telling a secret”—don’t trouble Christopher. He’s careful not to use metaphors, even by accident, but his book contains a few similes. This language preference helps the reader understand Christopher’s logical mind.

Minesweeper

A computer game, Minesweeper occupies much of Christopher’s free time. It’s a logic game with a board covered with squares, some of which hide explosive mines; each square is marked by a number that tells how many mines lie next to, or under, that square. To win, the player must reason out the location of all the mines. This is an ideal game for Christopher, as it requires repetitive reasoning in arithmetic, which distracts him from his worries and soothes his mind.